Reid's Genius
by Radiday
Summary: A series of one-shots about Reid, especially his work outside the BAU.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Long time reader, first time poster. Brief mention of Grey's Anatomy character Dr. Derek Shepherd, no need to be familiar with that show. Reviews appreciated!

"To be honest, I'm not sure whether to say congratulations or…"

"I'm sorry," Reid couldn't help but wince at his boss's words.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Reid. This is incredible."

Pause.

"How long have they wanted you?"

A bitter laugh, "Since I was 18."

"And you've ignored it this entire time?"

Deep breath. "The guy running the program, Dr. Derek Shepherd, he-uh, he just passed away. They want me to take his place."

"Who's they?"

"The president."

"The-, of the United States?"

Nod.

"And if you don't?"

"I could save millions of people," the genius whispered.

"I'm not trying to tell you not to take it. But is this what you want?"

"Dr. Shepard's work was based on Alzheimer's. But their findings could cure dozens of neurological and psychological diseases."

It made sense now. "Including Schizophrenia."

"I thought by 30 I would have found it by now. This might be my chance."

"This Dr. Shepard, he a medical doctor?"

Nod. "Neurosurgeon. The best in the world."

"But you're not-" 

"No, but I could learn…. A lot faster than anyone else."

 _Fact._

"How much time will you need to take off?"

"A year."

"Full time?"

"Well… no. There'll be weeks or months where I'll need to be away full time."

"I'd love to use you as a consultant until your ready to come back to us. How does that sound?"

"I'd like that."

A turn of his head, and Aaron Hotchner's eyes met those of the remaining team members who had gathered outside his office, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Do you want to tell them or should I?"

"Come with me?"


	2. Chapter 2

"The Macarthur Grants, better known as Genius Grants, have been awarded for the 2016 year. Among the recipients is Dr. Spencer Reid…"

Will coughed up his drink, pausing the TV.

"Cher! Cher, come here!"

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Look."

Play.

"…Reid, of the metropolitan DC area. Dr. Reid holds PhD's in Chemistry, Engineering, and Mathematics."

"Did he tell you about this?"

"No." She's already on her way out the door.

Everybody had heard. Everybody except Reid, that is. So he wasn't expecting the bombardment he received upon entering the BAU.

"Spence, why didn't you tell us?"

"Spencer, congratulations, kiddo!"

"Could somebody please tell me what's going on?"

"Oh, come on, pretty boy. Stop playing dumb. We're not mad, we swear."

"I honestly-"

Reid was cut off by Garcia's swift walk, as she dropped a newpaper in his lap. "First page," she said.

Reid scanned the page… then again… then again.

"Oh come on, kid, 20,000 words per minute up there. You're time is up."

"I didn't apply for this."

"I might have had something to do with that."

"Mike?"

"Don't be angry Spencer, but we knew you would never do it. We have to give it a shot."

"Who's we?" Spencer nearly shouted.

At the same time, "Who's Mike?" came from the team.

"Well, your advisees, of course. And the rest of the department."

"Dr. Michael Saunders, professor of Organic Chemistry at Caltech." It was Garcia that spoke, gesturing the man that had spoken before here.

"You knew about this?" Reid's eyes narrowed.

"Hey, do you think just anybody could have fooled the McArthur Grant board besides yours truly?"

"I don't understand."

"Oh honey, your friend Mike here googled the goddess of Quantico and asked if we could send an application in your name. I made it happen."

"Sorry to interrupt," Rossi chimed in. "But can I ask with the grant is for?"

"$625,000 dollars over the course of five years. No strings attached."

"And your research is?"

"Psychosis and its sibling disorders. Dr. Reid here is one step away from finding a cure."

"Oh my god, Spence, that's amazing!"

"How long as you been working on this?" the unit chief asked.

"I started when I was in college, an assistant in Mike's lab. I couldn't get any results, though, so I stopped. Then when Emily left…"

"Dr. Reid's been flying back and forth, working with his lab assistants, but when the grant rolled around, he didn't seem interested. But his money is just what you need. It's the last push."

"…Wow."

"They don't call 'em 'Genius Grants' for nothing," laughed JJ.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, pretty boy. Pretty lady at 3 o'clock."

The team had just returned from their latest case. At Morgan declaration, Reid picked up speed. "Sarah? What are you doing here?"

"It worked, Dr. Reid! Look, no aggregate, anywhere, in any of the subjects."

"It could've been…"

"31 different labs across the world tried it. They all got the same results. You got it."

Derek was curious enough. There had to be a way to get ore information out of these two. "Well, hello there. Derek Morgan, and you are?"

"Sarah Montgomery, PhD candidate working under Dr. Reid."

"Sarah's one of my advisees from MIT," Reid gestured.

That was enough to peak JJ's interest. She never knew Reid did other work outside of the BAU. "You're an advisor at MIT?"

"And Harvard and Caltech," Sarah chimed in.

"I work for the universities, they let me use their labs for research," Reid explained.

" _Your_ research, which just cured Alzheimer's and Parkinson's," added Sarah, shoving the manila folder into Reid' arms.

"Sarah!"

"Reid, is that true?" The group turned to see Hotch, who had just entered the bullpen.

"No, no, it's not. It was obviously a fluke."

"Does he always do this? Underestimate his ability?" Sarah asked, looking from profiler to profiler.

"Please remember, Ms. Montgomery, that I am the only thing standing in your way to go from Miss to Dr.," Reid supplied with a small smile.

"Look at the scans. Before, aggregate, tangles, plaques. There's the oligomer. And now… there's nothing. It's going….going… and gone. Every lab got the same results. It worked."

Now Reid felt like he couldn't breath. "Holy…"

"So what happens now?" Garcia asked, settling onto Morgan's desk.

"Dr. Reid's got a meeting with the head of the science departments, and the President of MIT. Once it gets FDA approved, the trials can start and then it's on the market."

"Let me guess, Sarah, you set up this meeting?" Reid asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Do you even need to ask?"

"It's not that fast of a process. Getting FDA funding takes years…" Reid explained.

"Oh please, they've been waiting for the final results of this study for the last ten years. They're ready when you are. This drug will be in human trails in the next few weeks."

"Spence, that's incredible."

Reid vaguely heard Rossi exclaim "True genius," among all the other cheers and smiles across the room.


End file.
